Brasileiro set for gripping climax

São Paulo failed to clinch the Brazilian league title after they were held 1-1 at home to Fluminense. A win would have meant a third consecutive Brasileiro but São Paulo buckled under the pressure of a packed Morumbi and now need to avoid defeat away to Goiás next weekend. Grêmio condemned Ipatinga to the second division after a 4-1 win in Minas Gerias. The Porto Alegre side can take the championship on numbers of wins if São Paulo lose and Grêmio beat Atlético Mineiro in the estádio Olímpico.

With São Paulo and Grêmio now qualified for the Libertadores, two places are up for grabs and just one point separates Palmeiras, Cruzeiro and Flamengo.

At the bottom, Portuguesa and Ipatinga went down. Two from Náutico, Atlético Paranaense, Figueirense and Vasco will join them next weekend.

Fluminense arrived in the Morumbi needing a point to ensure their Série A status. With São Paulo clearly unsettled, Flu looked the more relaxed and should have gone ahead right from the start had Washington not missed from close range. Flu finally broke the deadlock early in the second-period when substitute Tartá knocked the ball in from close range. São Paulo drew level when Borges miss-hit an attempted volley into the ground and Flu keeper Fernando Henrique let the ball bounce off the post and into the net. See the highlights here

Grêmio did their part away at Ipatinga beating the homeside 4-1. But Celso Roth’s men had to come from behind after conceding a Pablo Escobar goal. Two ex São Paulo players, Marcel (2) and Jean, responded for Grêmio and Léo grabbed a fourth.

Palmeiras drew 0-0 at Vitória but the point was enough to lift the Palestra Itália side into 3rd place.

Cruzeiro went down away at Internacional but stayed fourth. Gustavo Nery got the game’s only goal.

Flamengo took a three-goal lead against Goiás in the Maracanã with an Obina brace and one from Juan. But Fla got it all wrong in the second-half, and Goiás came away with a point after Paulo Baier, Ernando and Thiago Feltri struck home. The result left Flamengo in danger of losing out in the race for the Libertadores places.

Portuguesa’s 2-2 draw with Sport was not good enough for the São Paulo club and they made a quick return to the Second Division.

The final round

The Libertadores places: Palmeiras take on Botafogo in the Palestra Itália. A win guarantees Palmeiras a top four finish. A draw and Palmeiras need either Cruzeiro or Flamengo to drop points. Cruzeiro are at home to relegated Portuguesa. A win for the Belo Horizonte team will do. A draw and they’ll need to rely on Palmeiras or Flamengo not to win. Flamengo are away at relegation-threatened Atlético Paranaense. Fla need the win and hope that Palmeiras or Cruzeiro drop points.

At the bottom: a win for Náutico at Santos will secure their Série A status. A point will do it if either Atlético Paranaense or Figueirense fail to win. If Náutico lose, they’ll need to hope that both Atlético Paranaense and Figueirense do not win. Three points will be enough for Atlético Paranaense against Flamengo. A point and they could go down if both Figueirense and Vasco win. Figueirense must beat Internacional in the Orlando Scarpelli and hope that Atlético or Náutico lose or that Atlético draw. Vasco must beat Vitória away and pray that both Atlético and Figueirense fail to win.

See all the Campeonato Brasileiro round 37 results and the league table here

its going to be a really interesting end to the season. i have a question – have they abandoned championship playoffs now then in brazil? i have been reading that in the past even though they had a league, titles still were decided by playoffs. this no longer the case i take it?

the league moved to a points only format in 2003. prior to that, it had taken various forms but generally the championship was decided on a league basis followed by playoffs. though many Brazilians still miss the knockout phase, it looks like the current format is here to stay – i certainly hope so!